No FLOODY way! Brits set for a fortnight of scorching heat

The latest hot spell could rival the record-breaking heatwave of 1976, with thermometers expected to hit 31C (88F).

But the topsy-turvy weather saw six weeks of rain fall in an hour in parts of the UK yesterday.

Canvey Island in Essex got the worst of the mega- deluge, with a whopping 66mm in three hours. That is more than the 45mm average rainfall the area usually receives during July and sparked floods two feet deep.

The downpour saw 40 homes flooded and triggered an unprecedented number of 999 calls.

Paul Masters lost £40,000 worth of koi carp during flooding. Sewage backed up and ran into his pond in Canvey Island.

Workers from a local plant hire firm tried to save the fish by cleaning the water.

But the rescue mission failed.

Elsewhere in Britain, people basked in the sun or took cooling dips.

Forecasters say the south-east of England will not be soggy for long, with 31C weather due by Thursday.

Temperatures will rise to 28C today, 29C tomorrow, with 31C possible on Thursday and Friday.

And good weather is predicted by the experts to last until August, threatening to put the summer of ’76 in the shade.